Sunday, January 9, 2011

Grilled Lamb Chops with Pomegranate Glaze

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...For better or for worse we are a nation of meat eaters. On average, a typical American consumes 61 pounds of beef, 59 pounds of chicken and 46 pounds of pork each year. Strangely enough, that love of meat does not extend to lamb, and that typical American will eat less than a pound of it a year. Buried in the data is the fact that fully one-third of Americans have never tasted lamb. Those numbers astound me. I live in a region where sheep are raised and lamb is readily available. It is also fairly priced. Bob and I have lamb at least four times a month and enjoy it immensely. I suspect we skew the numbers that statisticians report. I know for a fact that my family consumes at least 50 pounds of lamb in the course of a year, and the Armenian family at the bottom of our hill consumes even more of it than we do. We have our own little "cluster" on this hillside and that means because we eat so much of it, 200 of you probably aren't eating any at all. More's the pity. Because we have lamb so often, I make it a point to look for new recipes and ways to cook it. Among the holdovers I had from the holiday, were four double cut lamb chops and some generic pomegranate juice and seeds. I searched for a recipe that used those three ingredients, and Google found one developed by the California Sheep Commission. It was exactly what I was looking for. While the recipe is quite easy to do, the lamb requires at least 8 hours to marinate, so, you'll have to plan accordingly. This is a lovely recipe. You will have to watch the chops closely as they brown very quickly and can burn. I hope you'll give it a try. Here's how the chops are made.

Directions:1) Combine pomegranate juice, garlic, peppercorns and chopped mint in non-reactive bowl; mix well. Add chops and turn several times to coat all sides. Refrigerate 8 to 12 hours, turning occasionally.2) Remove chops from marinade; drain and set aside. Pour marinade into small saucepan. Heat to boiling and simmer 20 minutes or until reduced to 1/3 cup.3) Brush chops with reduced marinade and oil. Salt.4) Broil or grill chops about 3 inches from heat, brushing once or twice with marinade. Cook about 5 to 6 minutes per side for medium rare, 7 to 8 minutes for medium and 9 to 10 minutes for well done. Yield: 4 servings.

Four times a month?? I cannot remember where you live, if I ever knew? Well, I do like lamb. But I have never tasted it in a restaraunt. I have only tasted it maybe four times, back in the 70's when I found some in the grocery store and made lamb stew. It was very good. I have never had a chop, I don't think. The problem is, we just can't find it here in the grocery stores! It is hard to come by. I think if I look hard enough, I could maybe find it in the spring. Healthwise, I wonder if it's better for you than beef? Possibly...

I've been craving for lamb meat a very long time. But not willing to cook this just for myself! What a pity that my hubby & the kids not having this. Yours is so seducing! Have a great day!Blessings, Kristy

I use pomegranates a lot in my food. It taste great on beef, chicken and lamb. This recipes looks amazing and I have one a lot like it as well. Yummy I cook many lamb chops we just love them. Thanks for another great recipe.

Also we just opened a foodie forum for all of us foodies would love to see you around.http://s15.invisionfree.com/Ya_Salam_Kitchen/index.php

Andrew and I stand to be counted in the lamb consumer column. In fact, we shared a small rack of lamb at dinner yesterday. Your pomegranate glaze looks and sounds delicious. We'll certainly try it as our pomegranates are quite nice at present (grocery store of course).

Love the use of pomegranate in this delicious and yummy looking lamb chops! We do not often eat lamb and even if we do, it will be at the restaurants, never at home. Would love to try cooking lamb someday. Thank you for sharing. Have a lovely week.

We are one of those families that love lamb and usually have it on the menu several times a month. Your mint and pomegranate glaze sounds delicious, Mary. I've bookmakred this for our next lamb dinner.

Mary, thanks for stopping by my blog! I hear uou on the lamb thing. I think the only time I eat lamb is in a gyro but I don't know if you can actually call that lamb. I will have to look for it the next time I am at the store because your recipe looks delicious!

We eat lamb only a handful of times per year but I really enjoy it! It is not readily available in our area but I will be searching it out. Your lamb chops look fantastic with the pomegranate glaze - so juicy!

I adore lamb. When I lived in the States, my family rarely eat any lambs. Once or twice a year maybe. In the UK, lamb is very popular and I love cooking it. The lamb chops you made looks delicious and the pom glaze... yum.Enjoy your Sunday Mary. Michael

Those are beautiful lamb chops, Mary, especially with the pomegranate seed garnish. Great photo! The best lamb I've ever had is the lamb that is lovingly raised by some close friends in California. It's the best, and always a treat when we visit. Have a wonderful week!

My husband and I love lamb (it's the Italian in me) but few Minnesotans seem to eat it. When I am in line at the farmers market with lamb shanks (delicious in winter) and lamb chops, people always ask me how I will cook it - and of course, I love to talk lamb and spout out a few recipes. This is out of my recipe knowledge and so I love it - the sweet-tart glaze - just a celebration. But I don't do my part in beef comsumption and am way up there with the chickens.

We like lamb, and live in Iowa, where you'd think it would be easy to find- not so. The demand is so low here that even when you can find it, stew lamb and ground lamb are priced at about $6 per pound.

The Sheep Industry Association needs to do a much better job of promoting their product, ala "Pork- the Other White Meat" and "Beef- it's what's for dinner".

Privacy Policy

This blog does not share personal information with third-parties nor does it store information about your visit for use other than to analyze content performance through the use of cookies, which you can turn off at anytime by modifying your Internet browser's settings. Third party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on a a users prior visits to this website. Google's use of the DoubleClick cookie enables it and its partners to serve ads. This blog is not responsible for the republishing of the content found here on other Web sites or media without the owners permission. This privacy policy is subject to change without notice